Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The Best Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers: A Review

I'm a Side Sleeper with Bad Knees

I have
had neck problems and back problems for years, and thirty years ago a
physical therapist told me that when I sleep, I should keep a pillow
under my knees if I'm on my back or between my knees if I sleep on my
side. I am also supposed to hug a smaller than normal size pillow. It has not been easy to find pillows that will help me sleep without pain. I'm sharing the results of my search with you to save you time if you also need a knee pillow.

I've always been a
side sleeper. The main reason for that was that I have post-nasal
drip that makes me cough during the night, and when I cough lying on
my back, it hurts my ribs. (Getting old isn't much fun.) This year my
knees have developed problems. I could not seem to find one of any of
the numerous pillows around the house that was the right shape or
thickness to fit well between my knees to keep my knees and hips
properly aligned. I finally decided to get a pillow made for the job.

Finding the Best Knee Pillow

I searched several
knee pillows on Amazon and decided on this one – the Cushy Cloud Memory Foam Knee Pillow. It arrived almost instantly – the very
next day – although I had ordered only the standard free shipping.
I was very happy about this, since my right knee, which had been my
good one, had suddenly gotten so bad I could hardly walk.

The inside of my
Cushy Cloud is all memory foam. The outside is a soft gray cover that
I can machine wash if necessary. It has a zipper closing to keep the
pillow snug inside. I love it. Although I can sleep on my back when I
want to since I got my new REM adjustable bed, I still often want to
sleep on my side. The pillow can be placed between my thighs or below
my knees to keep my spine properly aligned and my knees almost
pain-free. Heat helps, too. Now I crawl under my electric blanket for
the warmth and put the pillow in place. Within minutes the pain in my
knee has subsided so I can sleep.

Almost by accident I
discovered something else. When I was using an ordinary pillow under
my knees while on my back, I would just switch its position to
between my legs when I turned to my side. Since I got the new bed,
though, I didn't need a pillow under my knees because the bed
adjusted. If I wanted to turn over, I had to take the pillow off the
table next to the bed and maneuver it under the covers to get it
between my knees, and I always had to struggle enough to do this to
wake myself up thoroughly or to set off a hot flash. I discovered
that if I kept the Cushy Cloud standing tall between my knees while
on my back, it was already there when I wanted to roll over, and it
kept my knees warmer in the meantime. If that left knee is really
hurting bad when I go to bed, I put it over the concave top of the
Cushy Cloud when I'm sleeping on my back and it gives me extra
support and warmth while elevating my knee a bit more. It seems to
help relieve the pain.

A Pillow to Hug

In case you're
wondering, my favorite pillow to hug is a camping / toddler / travel
pillow. I have shown one that's the same size but a better pillow
below. I have also included among the suggestions the pillow cases
that fit it. I'm going to break down and buy a couple myself. The
one that came with my pillow, bought decades ago, finally wore out,
and substituting a normal pillow case just doesn't work well. It's
easier to pick one up at Amazon than to scour the local stores in
search of one, even now that I know what I'm looking for. The ones I
recommend below will fit most camping, travel, or toddler pillows.
They definitely match the toddler pillow I recommend below.

Sometimes getting a
good night's sleep depends on having the right bed and the right
pillows on it. We bought out beds after spending a lot of time trying
them out in person, and that's the only way I'd buy a bed. The
pillows I've recommended can be successfully purchased online. If you
aren't satisfied with your Cushy Cloud knee pillow, you can send it back
for a refund. I'm keeping mine.

10 comments:

Wow, sounds like you have your aches and pains under pretty good control with the pillows and your new bed. Perhaps a pillow between my knees would help me, too. Dealing with aging certainly is a challenge, so I appreciate any advice like this I can get. Sleep well!

I had to laugh at your comment about getting older not being fun. It may not be as much fun as the days of our youth, but it sure beats the alternative! It is really awesome though that there are products like these pillows that will help us get a good night's sleep. I think we all have aches and pains that disturb our rest and having a ready solution can sure make a world of difference. Thank you for the recommendations! Btw, I have yet to find a head pillow that I like and I have certainly tried a lot of them seeking the elusive best fit for my head and neck.

Sometimes I think I like certain pillows and they seem good for a time, and then they don't. I thought the one that came with my bed was wonderful while I was testing the bed, but now I'm not so sure it was that much better than the down pillow. I'm tempted to try the one I keep seeing advertised on TV, but I think I can live with what I have for now.

this is good to know - I have identical issues with my knee and hips and sleep with pillows between my knees all night, tossing and turning - I even get up and put Voltaren on when I can't stand it any longer. I'll keep this pillow in mind. Appreciate the heads up on this one.

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